Making the Breakthrough – The Rise of Women’s Football
Soccerex Europe 2019
The Studio | 5 September 2019 | 1:50 PM - 2:45 PM
2019 looks set to be a tipping point for women’s football. The past five years have seen increasing investment by Europe’s established elite and now the UEFA Women’s Champions League boasts some of the most recognised brands in football, bringing increased audiences and commercial attention. With more fans engaged than ever before, thanks largely to social media and the increased media profiles of its stars, the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France lies waiting on the horizon and with it the opportunity for both the interest in, and commercialization of, the women’s game to reach new heights. At Soccerex Europe, taking place just a few months after the FIFA Women’s World Cup, leading figures from the women’s game will unite to look back at the tournament and the impact it can have upon levels of participation, media coverage and financial growth in the sport. They will also look at what can be done to address the many inequalities in comparison with the men’s game and make football more accessible to girls and women across the continent.
Suggested for: Clubs & Rightsholders, Broadcasting & New Media, Social Responsibility
Speakers
Laura GEORGES is an ex-international football player (188 caps with French National Team and 7 goals) who is now Secretary General of the French Football Federation (FFF).
As a player, Laura GEORGES has one of the greatest records of French Football. She has won 2 Champions League, 6 national titles and 3 national cups and she was semi-finalist of the 2011 Women’s World Cup. During her career she played for the following clubs: Paris SG, Olympique Lyonnais and FC Bayern Munich. She also studied at the prestigious university of Boston College where she used to play for 3 years for the Boston College Eagles in the NCAA.
Since 2017, she has supported Noël LE GRAËT, President of the FFF, as Secretary General particularly in charge of the development of women’s refereeing plan.
Fully engaged in the development and the promotion of women’s football, Laura GEORGES is ambassador of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 in France.
Marzena joined The FA in April 2017, to deliver integrated marketing and commercial support to the women’s game across the whole organisation. This involves leading and co-ordinating a cross-functional team on all aspects of the women’s game across marketing, commercial, digital and communications.
Since starting, Marzena has been focused on the commercial and marketing pillars within the Gameplan for Growth strategy of doubling participation and fans by 2021. A Lionesses campaign ahead the 2017 European championships, followed by a successful English bid in 2018 for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 Championships set the bar for commercial investments from 7 partners in 12 months in the women’s game, including a landmark multi million pound investment from Barclays.
Prior to The FA, Marzena was managing director of her own consultancy, b-focused ltd, specialising in sports marketing, sponsorship and event management. Clients included Team GB, Youth Sport Trust, British Rowing and Panasonic, among others. She led the management and co-ordination of largescale events such as the Team GB FanZones 2016, Birmingham Rugby World Cup Fan Zone 2015, the London 2012 Live Sites Network, 2008 Visa Handover in The Mall, London and 2004 Olympic Torch Relay, London.
From 1996-2006 Marzena was the inaugural Director of Marketing at the British Olympic Association (BOA) where she built and managed the BOA’s first commercial and marketing department. During her time at the BOA, she was also the architect of the Team GB brand.
Bex Smith first came to prominence as a World Cup and Olympic footballer representing New Zealand, and culminating her club career winning The Triple with VfL Wolfsburg as UEFA Champions League, German League and German Cup Winners up until her retirement from the game in 2013 (due to knee injury).
During her time as a professional footballer she earned her degrees in Economics, Spanish, an MBA and Masters in Psychology. Since then she has worked for FIFA as Manager of Women's Competitions and Strategic Planning, as a freelance sports consultant, as an Executive Producer, and she is now Executive Director of Women's Game for COPA90, the world's largest independent football media business. At COPA90, Bex oversees the commercial, editorial and marketing delivery of a business-wide initiative to normalize women's football.
Pedro's career in the football industry began when he became a board member at Sporting Clube de Portugal, a position he held for two years, alongside acting as the Youth Academy Director and Secretary General of Sporting Clube de Portugal SAD.
He then moved on to found Goalpoint Partners, the top choice in statistics and performance information services about Portuguese professional football for key professional players in the football/soccer industry. GoalPoint Partners owns the website www.goalpoint.pt an open mainstream source of the best statistical analysis and editorial opinion on Portuguese football and other sports.
Jez Weeks is a football coach, coach educator and international sports development & operations consultant with 20 years experience working with The Premier League, The FA, London 2012, Fulham FC, Exeter City FC, Star Sixes, The Saudi Super Cup, Football for Peace and the Indian Super League. Jez has worked across Asia, Africa and the Americas with the Premier League's international programme 'Premier Skills'. Recently, Jez was part of the team that led England's successful bid to host the UEFA Women's European Championships in 2021. Jez is the Director of W10 Sport Consultancy and regular event host and moderator. www.jezweeks.com
